Netflix is currently streaming Ginger Baker In Africa, an incredibly loose documentary surrounding the British percussion wizard’s trip from Algeria to Lagos, Nigeria in November of 1971. And by ‘loose’ I mean 53 minutes of (ostensibly) amateur footage that oscillates between off the cuff jam sessions and animated beat-poetry narration to scattered on-the-road vignettes. If you’re into this sort of trip (we are) it’s great – if not, don’t bother. A heady travelogue, indeed.

One of the first Western rock musicians to seriously take an active interest the region’s music, the basis for Baker’s visit was to scout locations for a recording studio. As such, Baker of course hooked up with Fela, an old friend from Kuti’s London days, filming him and his band in action one evening at Kuti’s nightclub, The Afro Spot. Baker’s intimate, rain soaked footage, below.

Saw “Beware of Mr. Baker’ at the International Film Festival here in Boston – after hearing so much about it (and missing it) at SxSW 2012. It was just unbelievable. It’s left a lasting impression on me. I believe it actually used some footage of “Ginger Baker in Africa.” The footage and editing are sensational. Rare Fela Kuti and Cream clips made it my favorite documentary of the last year.

This footage is pretty riveting – reading/watching this after having just heard how great this doc is from my drummer brother, I will definitely be putting it at the top of my watch list (along with his other high recommend of the Ronnie Lane documentary) – very excited for upcoming netflixes.